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Ready for the big time: NMU men’s soccer downs Lake Erie with nationally ranked SVSU next

By Steve Brownlee 6 min read

MARQUETTE -- The men's soccer team at Northern Michigan University should have "good vibrations," as the Beach Boys long ago sang, with the Wildcats preparing for an important trip downstate after defeating Lake Erie College 3-2 at the NMU Soccer Field on Thursday afternoon.

NMU will pack up for a trip downstate to play at Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Saginaw Valley State at noon Sunday.

Though both are members of the same league, this game will count as a nonconference contest.

However, it will mean just about the same to an NCAA tournament selection committee at the end of the season when picks and seeding are determined for the NCAA Division II tournament.

SVSU is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and No. 6 nationally after having won the 2025 regular season in the conference.

Northern is coming off its first-ever appearance in the nationals after dispatching the same Cardinals team 1-0 at the same field in downstate University Center last November. That victory was not only for the championship of the GLIAC tournament, but determined the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs.

Looking back to this now, though NMU and the Cardinals play twice more in the conference season -- including just 12 days later back near Saginaw -- this first meeting could set the tone for both teams' season.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were happy to get a home win on Thursday over Lake Erie, the No. 9 team in the Midwest Region and a former member of the GLIAC.

Northern improved to 2-1, all nonconference games so far, as freshman Vinni DaSilva scored his first goal in his first start in NMU's first home game.

He needed exactly five minutes to put his team on the scoreboard. Junior teammate Noah Preston-Watkins added his second goal of the campaign barely more than two minutes later and the Wildcats were off to a 2-0 gallop.

"Wonderful start, obviously," Wildcats head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the game. "A work of art from the first goal and the second goal, just the way we drew it up, but it's college soccer; Lake Erie's good.

"They got back in the game, and I thought we did a really good job of managing that down moment in the end of the first half."

That "down moment" occurred just over 20 minutes after Northern built its two-goal lead when Lake Erie's Veljko Radovanovic converted on a perfect pass from teammate Alex Banjac in the 29th minute, not quite 17 minutes before halftime.

The referees showed players seven yellow cards, all but one coming in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Four were tagged on Wildcats -- Marcos Gallardo Rozano, Sam Pilgrim, James Carr and even head coach Fatovic.

It produced choppy play at that point, but NMU still kept a halftime lead.

Coming out after halftime, Northern asserted itself first as Luca Rosen, who had assisted on Preston-Watkins' goal, put in what is already his third goal of this young season just over nine minutes into the second half.

Rosen converted on what NMU SI called a "wonderful" combination play also involving Sergio Cano Castro, who earned the assist, and Pilgrim.

"We got to halftime, sorted ourselves out, came back out, established ourselves, got the goal, went up 3-1, and we were doing well," Fatovic said. "I thought we were in control; we tried to see the game out, but (Lake Erie) is a tough team, and they got themselves back in the game, and we really had to dig."

Their digging produced one final goal with just over 13 minutes left when the Storm's Dario Stadler made it 3-2. After that, the Storm lived up to their nickname, firing off five shots down the stretch and almost put in the equalizer with 20 seconds remaining. On that play, a loose ball found Lake Erie's William Hjelte near the six-yard area, and it was Northern goalkeeper Asaf Kristal who was johnny-on-the-spot to make the critical save.

Asked about Kristal's play, Fatovic just needed one word: "Huge."

Kristal finished with seven saves, his most so far and most since a GLIAC tourney quarterfinal win a year ago.

"You don't always have to make diving saves to make a huge impact," Fatovic said. "It's the crosses that they send in, your composure, your distribution, helping the guys calm down, and that's why he's our leader and our captain; he's so solid in goal.

"In the end, we found out a lot about our team, and I am really happy with all the effort and grit, because that's what it really requires when we're not at our best yet. Fantastic teamwork, and I couldn't be happier for the guys."

Gallardo Rozano played all 90 minutes while picking up an assist on DaSilva's goal, while Davian Gumbs and Julius Lemm each were in for more than 80 minutes.

"It means a lot, because for them, this was the first adverse moment (of the season), and they signaled that 'Hey, we're here to play,' and not just fold when things get tough, and I think it's a big, big message for their own confidence," Fatovic said about playing in the aftermath of Sunday's 2-0 loss at Tiffin in southern Ohio.

Rosen was certainly a leader, this captain not only getting a goal and assist, but also taking five shots with four of them on goal in just 55 minutes on the field.

"He was causing trouble all day long," his coach said. "Every time we get the ball to (Rosen), he's electric, and because we have so much other talent, it's going to open up spaces for the other guys like Noah Preston-Watkins and Vinni.

"That's what Luca does. He can do it on his own, like the winning goal, which was fantastic, but he's going to draw attention; he's going to draw combinations, and we're going to get nice matchups with our other quality players, and that's what’s really electric about our front line."

Story contents based on a Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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